URLs du Jour

The remarkable thing about Colin Kaepernick’s banning of
Nike’s Betsy Ross flag sneaker to commemorate the Fourth of July isn’t that it happened, but how easily it happened. Nike’s management simply folded over “concerns that it could unintentionally offend.”

No one has ever thought to go looking inside corporate headquarters for profiles in courage, but the lurch toward timidity in our time by individuals at the top of America’s private and public institutions is something to behold. Pusillanimity has become a plague.

What these incidents have in common is that the outcome didn't
solve anything. Racism didn't go away because Nike pulled the
flag shoe; nor was it affected by memory-holing Kate Smith. Chief
Wahoo's presence was not a crucial factor in the relative
poor economic position of Native Americans. Not a single male lout
was inspired to be less loutish.

I really shouldn't psychologize this, but I will anyway: the
advocates behind this onslaught of wokeness aren't trying to "solve"
anything. That's not the point of the exercise.

Instead they're getting a temporary dopamine jolt from a successful
campaign of intimidation/legislation/moral posturing. I bent
these people to my will. Congratulations.

And that's why it's a never ending struggle. Each little biochemical
thrill only lasts so long, then it's another search for the
next pointless crusade.

Google has instructed employees to stop using politically incorrect terminology, and to edit existing code in order to remove offensive language.

That's according to The Daily Caller, which obtained a copy of a "respectful code" policy written by Google Senior Fellow Sanjay Ghemawat and Vice President of Engineering Suzanne Frey. The document was shared with employees a year ago—around the same time Python stopped referring to components that control or are controlled by other components as "master" and "slave," which some people found offensive.

I will go out on a limb and claim that not a single person
was actually offended. And—yay!—once the last master/slave
reference is wiped out from code and support documentation, we'll
still have unacceptable implications of dominance and
submission.

And (again) racism will not vanish. The only thing different: that
little momentary dopamine jolt.

Americans are constantly being lectured that good citizenship isn’t contingent on skin color, faith, or ethnicity, but a set of beliefs. Yet whenever anyone is critical of the ugly things someone like Ilhan Omar says, they are immediately battered for being xenophobes and racists. You can’t have it both ways.

I mean, you can try. Nearly the entire contemporary progressive argument is girded by identity grievances. So when Fox News’s Tucker Carlson gives a monologue, in which he concludes that Omar was “living proof that the way we practice immigration has become dangerous to this country,” the reaction is predictable.

As philosophical matter, though, Omar isn’t the kind of immigrant we should want. That’s not because she is Muslim or black, but because she doesn’t believe in the traditional ideas that define American life. And she shouldn’t be immune from criticism merely because of her background.

Unfortunately, there are too many born-here Americans that no longer
buy the American ideals. What are you gonna do, deport them?

“Issues surrounding social media and speech have become more contentious and complicated in recent years, and are worthy of presidential attention. However, it’s disappointing the White House is elevating voices that advocate for the use of government against private individuals and companies with whom they have political differences.

“Empowering bureaucrats to police speech and fairness in any industry is a dangerous idea. Conservatives and free-market advocates should remember that not long ago the shoe was on the other foot and IRS employees weaponized regulation against political enemies. Inserting government into decisions properly left to the private sector doesn’t eliminate ‘bias’ or stop ‘censorship,’ as some claim. Only the government has the power to engage in censorship and asking it to intervene in questions about speech on social media could lead to severe curtailing of First Amendment rights under both President Trump and any future president.”

CEI's observation applies equally as well to "campaign finance reform".

Ralph Lileks — father, husband, up-from-nothing businessman, veteran, sportsman, aviator and by-God American original, died at his home this week. I found his WWII cap on the seat of his Harley in the garage.

Thank you for reading, and if you see a man with that hat, thank him, too. We owe them the world.

Over the years I've been reading Lileks, his admiration and love for
his father has been a recurring theme. I hope he'll take comfort
from having his dad around for as long as he did.

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